Tuesday, October 20, 2009

I don't know about you, but I seem to want to start my holiday shopping earlier each year. There's just something nice about having it done early, plus I avoid the crowds at the malls and the traffic that seems to be such a part of the whole rat-race. It could also be that, because we head South in the winter, I'm more at ease having gift shopping as one more thing crossed off my list.

This year I've been getting really excited about electronic books -- e-books-- and I got my own Kindle e-book reader earlier this fall. I'm loving it! So, that made me think that I should get all of my own books formatted and submitted for e-book publication. Although it's taken me some time to proofread all those old manuscripts and get them ready, I'm thrilled to say that all 11 of my Charlie Parker mysteries are now for sale in this format!

The newest one is Holidays Can Be Murder (which, incidentally, is available in both paper and e-book), and I was happy to be able to offer this one just in time for the Christmas season. It's a novella that I wrote several years ago for my editor at Worldwide Mystery and they included it in their annual anthology for their book club members. Since most other readers had never seen it, this seemed like the ideal time to bring it out again, as a stand-alone book and let people know about it. I'm including them as little hostess gifts and stocking stuffers for my own friends and family. If you'd like to do the same, here are links directly to the Amazon pages where you can find them.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

I am so jazzed right now--have had a really busy summer! Three Charlie Parker mysteries are now available for Amazon's Kindle e-book reader (check often, new titles are being added all the time) Find them here. They will soon have all eleven titles. I got my own Kindle a month or so ago and I just love it!

And.... I signed a recording contract with Books In Motion so they can make audio books of four of my titles. If you love unabridged audio books, you can find my titles here . Right now, they have just a couple of the books, but they will be adding the new ones very soon.

And then..... the most exciting news, I think, is that I've got a new Charlie mystery ready in time for Christmas. It's called Holidays Can Be Murder, and I've published it in a cute paperback version (and also for the Kindle), just in time for Christmas.

As the description on the cover says.... "It's a New Mexico Christmas. The lights are strung, the luminarias are set along the sidewalks. Treats are abundant and Charlie Parker is getting ready for her mother-in-law's holiday visit. But there is trouble in the neighborhood and when death shows up--right next door--Charlie's bright, festive plans suddenly take a turn for the dark."

This little book will be a fun holiday read for yourself, nestled in on those chilly winter days, and it's also a great stocking stuffer idea for anyone you know who loves mysteries. It's available right now on Amazon or through my CreateSpace e-store page. Check them out!

So now the fun of summer is over, the leaves here in northern New Mexico are brilliant gold, and we are starting to think of the beach as the weather turns colder and the snow begins to fly (twice already!). I'll keep you posted on what's going on in our lives!

Have a beautiful autumn and a wonderful upcoming holiday season!
Connie

Monday, June 29, 2009

We traveled all of last winter and I still managed to write a new manuscript. I will definitely keep you posted as I get further word on who will be publishing it, and when.

Last summer I spent a great deal of time working on a new writing course that I'm teaching. I originally developed the concept for Novel In A Weekend several years ago, based on the workshops and conference presentations I did for such a long time in the 1990s. The idea is that we spend two intensive days working on plot, characters and setting and by the end of a weekend we have a fully developed outline and a first chapter. Within 4-6 weeks, my students can have a finished first draft of their novel if they follow the program. I'm happy to say that the initial reviews on the course have been fantastic.

Anyone who is interested in learning more about writing a novel can check out the course information byclicking here. Follow the link for the Free Report and you can subscribe to my series of free fiction writing tips as well.

Meanwhile, I continue to work on my Charlie Parker mystery series and hope to have exciting news about that very soon!

My Editor's Blog

Welcome to my blog!

Welcome to my new blog, in which I'd like to share ideas on writing and publishing.

I'm the author of the Charlie Parker mystery series, ten books so far, along with a couple of nonfiction books on writing and publishing. I was senior editor at Intrigue Press for five years and I taught writing (both fiction and nonfiction) for Long Ridge Writers Group for six years. I'm a member of several writers organizations, including Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.

I've recently developed a novel-writing course in which I teach quick and easy ways to come up with plots, characters and settings for fiction. I lead my students through the process in a way that helps them completely plan an entire novel in just two days, and finish writing the first draft of their novel in only 4-6 weeks. I call the course Novel In A Weekend and if you click here you can learn all about it and get a free subscription to my writing tips.

Let me hear from you--what writers do you enjoy? Do you write? Do you have an idea for a great story that you would like to write someday?